Four students describe how they put their skills to use to earn money

Journalism

Siân Knight dons her mac and gets out the notepad

After the first 12 months of university excess, my student brain eagerly seized upon the idea of writing music reviews for my university magazine - mainly in order to keep the CDs and flog them down at the music exchange, thus funding my alcohol intake. I rapidly talked my way into editing the music section, and my third year brought an intercalated degree, associate editorship of the magazine, and, eventually, the student editorship of the studentBMJ.

Since then I've taken advantage of as many writing opportunities as I can. Freelance writing fits around my medical degree quite easily, as the hours are flexible, and I can work anywhere as long as I have a pen and a notepad nearby. It's solitary work, however, and the distractions of the TV and making endless cups of tea have much the same effect on meeting deadlines as they do during revision.

The most difficult and lengthy parts of the writing process are coming up with an idea in the first place, and then meticulously researching it. This means I tend to work from the medical library rather than from home as having internet access is a great resource for both of these things.

The only time when my writing impinges upon my degree is when I have to chase up press releases and get quotes for news stories. I obviously can't use my mobile phone in the hospital, so I waste hours on pay phones in between ward work and lectures, trying to obtain comment from people who are dealing with 50 journalists at once and who only work traditional office hours. It's fine for me to work late in order to meet a deadline the next day, but who will I get to comment on drug use in teenagers at 3 am in the morning?

The pay ranges from non-existent to extremely good. I don't have to live off my freelance earnings, so I can afford to write a few articles for free, perhaps to build up my portfolio or perhaps because the opportunity is too good to miss. All the unpaid work I do for my university magazine, for example, I do because I love it, and because it was my entire life for three years. But when I am paid, I'm paid well. The usual rate per word is about 17.5 pence, although news articles pay much more. If you're interested in a freelance career, start with your university publication. The experience and friendly criticism you'll receive are invaluable, although you will have to dump your ego. You'll also be taught hands-on tasks such as subbing and how to structure - skills you need to survive as a journalist in the real world. You may even develop a literary passion that will long outlive the memories of first year microbiology.